Jewel: This Way

Singer, songwriter, and poetess Jewel Kilcher has long been one of pop culture's most easily maligned figures, in part thanks to a best-selling book of goopy poetry and the memoir (the cover of which depicts her on horseback) she wrote to complement her three albums of pneumatic, overwrought sap. Musically, Kilcher has fallen off the radar a bit in recent years, and the time out of the spotlight has served her surprisingly well: This Way is somehow both ambitious and down-to-earth compared to its predecessors. The album announces the improvement immediately on its leadoff track and single, "Standing Still," which coats Kilcher's angsty sensitivity in an irresistible hook. Elsewhere, she courts myriad demographics—the teen-poetry crowd on the moribund ballad "Break Me," the Sheryl Crow crowd with the grit-attempting "Serve The Ego" and "Love Me, Just Leave Me Alone," the Faith Hill crowd with "Cleveland" and others—while stretching a bit creatively and tacking on a few live tracks for the faithful. Apart from a general reduction in groan-inducing lyrical missteps, the album's most noteworthy trend is the way its mild adult-contemporary exercises could, under a different name, fit in with the pretty faces that dominate contemporary country radio. Credit Kilcher with recognizing the need to redirect her commercial potential, and don't be surprised if This Way serves as her ticket to career longevity. The hordes who bought Pieces Of You and Spirit were bound to move on, and the album provides a clear indication that Kilcher has, too.